DoCoMo eyeing more acquisitions in Asia

Japan's NTT DoCoMo Inc. said on Friday it would seek more acquisitions overseas and particularly in Asia, after announcing this week a plan to buy part of a Bangladesh mobile carrier as it pursues growth outside a mature domestic market.

DoCoMo, a mobile phone operator from Japan, also said that it has not given up on talks to launch Apple Inc's iPhone and that it may also expand sales of Research In Motion's BlackBerry to individual customers. As the number of mobile phone subscribers approaches 108 million, or 85 per cent of the country's population, DoCoMo and rivals KDDI Corp and Softbank Corp have been searching for other ways to expand business. After announcing plans to buy 30 per cent of TM International (Bangladesh) Limited—operator of the Aktel brand—for Rs.1,400.74 crore ($350 million) on Monday, DoCoMo said it is looking for more acquisitions mainly in Asia.

"We are not saying we won't do anything in Europe and the United States, and we will consider (acquisitions) there too if chances come," Senior Executive Vice President Masayuki Hirata said at the company's annual shareholder meeting. "But our focus is on Asia."

"Within Asia, China and India remain big markets ... and we will look into these countries if the chance arises."

DoCoMo also said it would keep looking into the possibility of selling iPhones after Softbank Corp, which has been adding more new users than the industry leader, snatched rights to sell the popular device in Japan from July.

DoCoMo also said it may expand sales of BlackBerry smartphones to individual users from corporate customers.

As of 0427 GMT, shares in DoCoMo were down 0.7 per cent at 154,000 yen, against a 1.5 per cent drop in the Nikkei average.